The present invention relates generally to equipment used in fuel dispensing environments. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a fuel dispenser with a fuel analyzer.
Fuel adulteration is a major issue in many countries worldwide. Adulteration of fuel may include diluting a pure fuel grade, e.g. gasoline or diesel, with much cheaper additives, such as kerosene, in order to sell more quantity of fuel at regular fuel price. In some regions kerosene is subsidized by the government and given to families at a low price for cooking purposes. In these regions, the kerosene may be mixed with diesel or gasoline to dilute the fuel grade. In some instances, kerosene may make up to 30 percent of the fuel. This illegal practice has several negative impacts on society: tax evasion, damage to vehicle engines, fuel provider, e.g. oil company, reputation, and the like. Overall damages to one example nation's economy is about one billion dollars each year.
Adulteration may also occur in non-fraudulent ways, for example the mixing of water in fuel tanks after heavy rains. The water may enter the fuel tanks through vent leaks or other infrastructure issues. In another example, incorrect fuel grades may be inadvertently sold, for example by delivering E15 (15 percent ethanol) fuel into E85 (85 percent ethanol) tanks and vice-versa.
In an attempt to raise awareness of adulteration some dispensers have been equipped with a density display mounted on dispenser, showing the fuel density, since fuel density typically changes due to adulteration. However, these dispensers do not measure density, but are merely displaying a set value associated with the fuel grade.
Measuring density in a fuel environment may be generally characterized as a complex and expensive process. In some fueling environments, fast gas chromatograph with surface wave (SAW) detector may be utilized to determine the mass or chemical makeup of the fluid. However, this method has been implemented only in countries, such as Russia, where the expected temperature may change dramatically, e.g. become extremely cold. Thus causing a substantial change in the density and hence the ‘value’ of fuel delivered to the customer. In other fueling environments, such as in Canada, a method of automatic temperature compensation has been utilized. The automatic temperature compensation may be based on temperature detection and compensation ‘tables’ that would equalize the volume (so at very low temp, a less quantity of fuel is dispensed for a given price, calculated on volumetric base at ambient temperature). None of these methods is effective in detecting adulteration by fraud, infrastructure issues, or human error.